Heaven and Hell and the Baha'i Faith

Baha’i Viewpoint

Heaven and Hell are not seen as literal places that the soul of man goes after physical death but are seen as the progress of one’s soul towards God in the afterlife.1 Heaven is seen as a state of nearness to God, while Hell would be a state of being far from God.2

Biblical Viewpoint

Heaven to the Christian is the dwelling place of God and for those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour. Hell is the place of punishment for those who have not put their trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour. Satan and his demons will also be punished there. Heaven and Hell are both seen as literal places in the Christian worldview.

Passages Dealing with Heaven:

1 Kings 8:27: “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!”3

Deuteronomy 10:14: “Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it.”

Psalm 2:4: “He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them.”

Matthew 5:16: “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Passages Dealing with Hell:

Matthew 8:12: “but the sons of the kingdom will be cast into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 13:41-42: “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire, in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 18:8-9: “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into eternal fire. If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.”

Matthew 25:41: “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.’”

Matthew 25:46: “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Jude 7: “Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”

Revelation 20:15: “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”